Zathura - Ein Abenteuer im Weltraum

I'm pretty much sure that if you've liked 'Jumanji' then you'll enjoy this one. As a kid, I loved 'Jumanji' and 'Zathura' does not disappoint at all. Of course, both movies are adaptations of books written by the same writer. I was watching it with my kid sister who was having a blast. The two main characters are two brothers who are probably 10 and 7 years of age. The kid actors are quite good and they don't overdo the cute act. However, Kristen Stewart is the caricature whiny older sister who doesn't care. Thankfully, her role is limited. The only directorial venture of Favreau I have seen was 'Made' which was a laugh out loud dark comedy, completely different from 'Zathura'. He does seem to know the kind of movies kids love and families can enjoy. He's moving to being more versatile as a director as he's done a fine job so far. The special effects are awesome. Just like the engaging weirdness in 'Jumanji'. The house floating outer space, the dim lighting in the house, the house breaking, the bicycle orbiting around the floating house...all work well and add to the amusement. Highly entertaining! Kids will love it! Therefore families will love it too!

There are quite a few nice things about this film. In particular, Zathura is an aesthetically intelligent film. The makers did a great job of not relying too heavily on CGI; very thoughtful design and effects. The convincing use of miniatures, real sets and chaos/destruction really brought the story to life. True, its a kids movie. But not so much that it annoys, there's a timeless and attractive notion of adventure. Really hearkens back to the glory of 80's kids adventure movies. The film's gadgets and knick-knacks were great. The house and Zathura game-board were both characters in and of themselves, every bit as important as the actors (who did a fine job).

Throughout I felt like I was watching a little of "Time Bandits" mixed with some "Goonies" and maybe some "Hitchikers Guide..." or "House".

Some folks seem ambivalent to the film. That's unfortunate. Up against a lot of the uninspired sh*t that is released these days, Zathura is very successful in creating a fun and visually convincing escape. Half way through the movie I realized that I was waiting/anticipating the film's failure, that it was going to let me down. Never did.

I appreciated the film.

i was expecting this film to merely be a decent way to waste some time like it's predecessor, but zathura is better. it's just as wacky as jumanji, but just seems to make more sense.

it's a little bit on the short side and i expected a few more action scenes, but what's there is pretty good.

the dialogue is funny, but was a little more edgy than i expected.

overall, the film moved along at a brisk pace and had some nice unexpected twists. it was nice to see that it was filmed as a retro "buck rogers type" sci-fi game, but with modern day action levels. it's a nice mix.

the film offers enough action to keep your attention and enough surprises to keep you guessing. it was a lot better than i expected it to be. it was fun.

"... There are some games that you can't play alone." This is pretty much the sci-fi version of Jumanji.

Zathuras story is pretty unoffensive and predictable but it's still has some subtle twists and turns that keep it somewhat fresh.

The VFX impressed me, for a movie made in 2005 I was surprised to see how well the VFX have held up, even to today's standards.

Jon Favreaus directing is amazing as always, although I did find there to be some pacing issues for the majority of the film. It felt a lot longer than it needed to be.

Zathura is a good family sci-fi adventure film. I don't feel as if it's anything too special, but it's a good time overall!

Those who criticize "Zathura" for being a copycat "Jumanji" are apparently clueless about the Van Allsburg's books. "Zathura" is a sequel to "Jumanji", it is about what happened when the Budwing brothers opened the game box that Peter and Judy discarded at the end of "Jumanji". Early board games were often designed with two-sided boards so that the game pieces could be used to play two different games-usually of the same type. "Zathura" was the flip side of the "Jumanji" game board and the ones the brothers chose to play (because Walter did not like jungle games). So it is "supposed" to be like another "Jumanji".

Having grown up with this same sibling age dynamic (six and ten) I was not surprised at the amount of yelling, anger, and resentment that goes on between the two brothers. I was however surprised that anyone would find this sort of thing entertaining. While their divorced father (Tim Robbins playing the only sympathetic character in the film) is away at a meeting, the younger brother (Danny) finds an old Zathura game in the basement. Based on those old 1950's tin toys it involves two tin spaceships on a track racing around space. Each spin of the dial determines the distance the ship will move on that turn and a card is ejected detailing what happens to the ship at that point of space.

As Danny and Walter face the challenges of space they discover that they can work as a team and they even develop some affection for each other (a more unrealistic idea than anything they actually encounter in space).

Like the source book, the movie adaptation of "Zathura" targets kindergarten to Grade 5 children. Like "Sharkboy and Lavagirl", older viewers will find very little of interest other than a fun production design and nice effects.

Unfortunately "Zathura" it is not as pure as "Sharkboy and Lavagirl", which uniquely refused to compromise its "for kids only" story. "Zathura" does compromise, as the producers attempt to expand their audience by creating an older sister (Lisa played by Kristen Stewart) who was not a character in the book. While Stewart is fine in this role and even provides some comic relief, it is rather disturbing that the producers chose to turn her into a pubescent sex object, blustering around the house in her underwear for most of the film. Van Allsburg's illustrations are the best part of his books but a "hot teenage sister" is not an image he has ever published.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.